


Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

by versaphile



Category: Legion (TV)
Genre: Birthday, Friendship, Gen, Gift Fic, Mutant Powers, Post-Season/Series 02, Rebirth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 23:51:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18670918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/versaphile/pseuds/versaphile
Summary: Birthdays make David sad, so Lenny gives him a present.Birthday gift for Erisden. For the prompt: Lenny and David when it's his first birthday since they left Division 3.





	Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Erisden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erisden/gifts).



For a guy who spent his life being tortured by an evil mental parasite, David's a pretty upbeat guy. Since they started this whole commune thing, he's been having a great time, saving mutants and sheltering them from all the big bads out there. Nothing like an omega level mutant to make other mutants feel safe and grateful, and happy mutants means a happy David. 

Lenny’s proud of him— Not that she’d say it. She doesn’t do that affirmation shit. But she knows that pretty much all the guy's ever wanted to do is help, and he's finally doing it.

But the past few days— 

“I’m worried about him,” Amy says. 

“He’s fine,” Lenny insists, even though she’s worried too. “Just got the birthday blues. Same as every year.”

Lenny would know. She’s the one who had to look after David in Clockworks to make sure he didn’t do anything more stupid than usual. His birthday always makes him sad. 

That’s fair. He’s got enough awful shit to be sad about. But she kinda hoped this one would be better for him. 

"Still," Amy says. "You should talk to him."

"Stop nagging me," Lenny whines.

"I will if you give me my body back," Amy says, almost sing-song. It's an old refrain.

"Finders keepers," Lenny says. It's nonsense but so is her life. What did she ever do to deserve getting stuck with a semi-permanent hallucination of David’s dead sis? Amy comes and goes, and Lenny keeps waiting for her to stay gone for good. But here she is again.

"You still haven't told him about me," Amy points out. "Afraid of what he'll do?"

"What, like David's gonna lock me up for hallucinating?" Lenny sneers. “He’s not like you.” To her satisfaction, Amy looks hurt. Good. Lenny's keeping her blue eyes.

"Fine," Amy says, unhappily. "Just-- Make sure he's okay."

"That's my job," Lenny mutters, but Amy's already gone.

David being okay is not, in fact, Lenny's job. She doesn't have a job and she doesn't want one. After they blew the popsicle stand that is Division 3, he told her that whatever was his was hers. _Mi casa es su casa._ He felt bad about her getting murdered and generally fucked over, and that was his way of making up for it. 

That and not making her feel bad about walking around in his dead sister's body. It’s not something they talk about.

So Lenny doesn't have a job and will never need to have a job again. No more living on the streets like she did in her actual memories. She's got the good life now. She had to go through every kind of hell to get here, so she's earned it.

But someone's gotta watch out for David. He might be some kinda all-powerful mutant, but he's still the same vulnerable kid she took under her wing in Clockworks. And besides, who else does he have? Farouk took everyone else away. And these new mutants treat him like he's a god, not-- A lovable, well-meaning idiot.

She finds him out on the porch, curled up on the wicker sofa, staring into the distance and looking sad.

"Hey," she says, and casually slumps down next to him. 

"Hey," David sighs back. 

Amy’s right to be worried. The last thing they need is for David's funk to turn into a spiral. It took a lot of work on Lenny's part to get him stable enough for this whole commune thing in the first place, she's gotta keep him from messing it up.

She reaches out and gives his thick skull a slow, firm jab with her finger.

"Ow," David says, mildly.

"I'm making a hole. Now spill." 

That gets a weak chuckle out of David. It's a start.

"I was thinking, um-- We should get some sparklers," David says.

"Like, fireworks?" Lenny asks. "Wanna blow some shit up?" That would definitely cheer her up.

"Maybe later," David says. "No, I was-- Thinking about, um--" He shakes his head, clams up.

Lenny gives him a minute, two minutes. Then she prods him again.

"Lenny," David whines, and bats her hand away.

"Jabbing will continue until morale improves."

David isn't thrilled. He gives her a look full of a lot of emotions. Then he sighs and says, "Amy."

Lenny looks around, in case David saying her name summoned her. Nothing. Typical, she never comes out around David. "What about her?"

David looks out into the distance again. "She, uh-- Liked to use sparklers instead of candles. For my birthday cake."

"You miss her, huh?" Lenny asks. She wasn't sure which of David's shitty life experiences was haunting him, but-- Of course it's this one.

David's face crumples. God, it hurts her heart when he cries. Or maybe it hurts Amy's heart.

"Shit," Lenny mutters. She's not a hugger, but she has to do something.

"I'm okay," David says, even though he's obviously not. He sniffs and wipes his eyes. "It's just, um-- Hard, sometimes."

Not for the first time, Lenny feels like-- She has to tell him. But Amy was right, Lenny's afraid. What if David makes her give Amy her body back? Then what? Lenny doesn't want to die again. She's alive and she's gonna stay that way.

Amy’s probably not even real. What're the odds that Lenny's actually haunted by the ghost of the woman who was murdered to make her body?

Fuck, they're pretty high.

David might be her best friend and a lovable, well-meaning idiot, but he's also-- Basically a god. There was a time when she killed herself right in front of him and he didn't even blink. She doesn't think he'd do that now, but--

Fuck.

"David," Lenny starts, sure she's gonna regret this. "What if-- Amy wasn't gone?"

David gives her a puzzled look. It's better than him crying. 

"We've seen a lot of weird shit," Lenny tells him. "New world, new rules. We don't even need bodies to be alive anymore, right?"

"I guess," David says, warily.

Lenny braces herself. "Okay, so-- Sometimes, like-- Once in a while-- At first I thought it was just more bullshit from-- I mean, making people see shit is his thing, right? Favorite hobby."

David gives a shallow nod.

"But it keeps happening, and-- I dunno, it doesn't feel like him," she admits. "So maybe it's not. Maybe I'm just crazy." She feels pretty crazy right now.

"Lenny, I don't understand," David says, strained.

"Amy," Lenny spits out. "I see Amy."

David immediately looks around. Of course there's nothing for him to see. "Where?" he asks. "Now? You see her now?"

"Earlier," Lenny admits. "She was worried about you. You know, your birthday blues?"

Predictably, David stares at Lenny with sudden fear. Guy might be doing pretty good these days, but it doesn't take much to shake him up. And this is basically a small earthquake.

"I'm not him," Lenny says, almost completely certain. "Maybe she's him but-- Farouk's not good at pretending to care."

David finally looks like he's wrapping his brain around this. "Wait, no. No, I checked," he insists. "I couldn't find her."

Lenny shrugs. "I dunno, kid. One day she just showed up. Hassled me to help you with your stupid plan, then disappeared. She pops back once in a while, mostly to pester me about you."

"I checked," David echoes, weakly. His chin wobbles again, then he looks relieved, then distraught, then pleadingly hopeful. "Can I-- See her?"

"Kid, you tell me," Lenny sighs. "She just shows up, then she's gone. I ain't got nothing to do with it."

"Is she okay?" David asks, voice wobbly.

Lenny shrugs. "Okay enough to be annoying. Look, you're the magic man, right? So if she's real-- Magic her out."

David reaches for Lenny, then pulls back. "How?" 

Lenny doesn't know why David asks for her help with these things. Maybe because Farouk was her when he taught David how to use his powers. He imprinted like a baby duckling.

"Okay," Lenny says, trying to pull something useful out of her metaphorical ass. "You looked before, right? So look again."

David holds out his hand, not quite touching her, and closes his eyes in concentration. Lenny doesn't feel anything. She just waits.

David opens his eyes and slumps.

"Nada?" Lenny asks.

David shakes his head.

Lenny thinks some more. "If she's real, maybe-- Something's blocking you. She never comes out when you're around. Maybe it's blocking her, too." It's either that or Lenny is actually just crazy.

"That-- Actually makes sense," David says. He frowns, thinking. "Farouk did this," he says, his voice going deep with anger. He gets furious, then angry-calm. He stares in concentration. He pauses, shakes his head, pauses again. "Is there any part of you that-- Feels like her?"

"You mean besides my eyes?" Lenny asks.

David stares at her eyes, realizing. Lenny's dread increases.

"I need my eyes, kid," Lenny insists. She loves him but she's not going blind for him.

"I know," David says, but he's thinking. "I can make you new eyes?"

Fucking hell. "You can't even find her. What are you gonna do, carry them around and pretend that's her?"

That makes David stop, thank god. "You're right. We have to find her-- Her soul. Farouk must have-- Hid it somehow. You're sure it's her?"

"Pretty sure," Lenny admits. She wishes she wasn't. "Maybe you're just not looking deep enough."

"Maybe I'm not," David says, thinking again. And then in a blink, they're in the white room.

"Blast from the past," Lenny says, and tries not think about said past. "Now what?"

"Just-- Stay still," David says. And then he _walks right into her_. Lenny clutches her chest, feeling-- A weird shiver all over. Like a full body orgasm, if orgasms weren't fun. At least it's not like when Farouk wore her like a glove.

She takes a few steps back and sits down on the bed, dizzy. David better not be fucking up in there. She didn't survive a year of Farouk to--

"David?" It's Amy. Faint and distant, but it's her.

"Hey, I hear her!" Lenny calls, not sure if David can hear her. She slaps at her own chest. "Hey, kid! I hear Amy!"

"David?" Amy calls again, louder this time. 

And then Lenny cries out as her head spikes with pain. She falls back, grabbing it, keening through gritted teeth. It feels like there's something trying to bust out of her skull. The pain grows and she screams, and then--

She opens her eyes. She's back on the porch, on the wicker sofa. Her head's sore but intact. 

She sees herself lying next to her, slumped, her eyes closed.

"Fuck," Lenny groans. Where the hell is David? Is this whole thing just another bad dream? She has deeply fucked-up nightmares. Sometimes she's still awake for them.

And then David's back, standing in front of them, looking exhausted but-- Hopeful. 

"What the fuck?" Lenny whines.

"Almost done," David says. He leans down and rests one hand over the other Lenny's closed eyes, and one hand over Lenny's. And then--

The world goes sideways and upside down. When Lenny opens her eyes, she's sitting on the other side of the sofa, and-- Where she used to be, that's Amy.

Amy opens her eyes. They're blue.

Lenny looks down at herself. Something about this feels familiar. Somehow she feels-- _new_. Again. At least this time she's not naked in a desert.

Amy sits up, touches herself, the sofa. She looks around, taking everything in. "I'm alive?" she asks, faintly.

"You're alive," David says, eyes shining with happy tears. He falls to his knees and into Amy's arms, and she clings to him. 

They don't look like they're gonna stop hugging anytime soon, so Lenny struggles to her feet, wobbly, and tries to get her bearings. Something tells her-- She needs a mirror. She stumbles back inside, to the mirror in the hall.

Brown eyes stare back at her. _Brown_. She'll have to get used to brown again. 

"Happy birthday to us," Lenny says. Amy's gonna need a lot of sparklers.


End file.
